


A Window Left Open

by AxelsLullaby



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Adult Content, Adult Themes, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magical Society, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Mentioned Aqua (Kingdom Hearts), Mentioned Lea (Kingdom Hearts), Mentioned Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Mentioned Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts), Multi, Slow Burn, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:27:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27066382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AxelsLullaby/pseuds/AxelsLullaby
Summary: When Ventus and his family move back to town ten years later after a grave menace is defeated, his life flips about ten different ways before landing upside down.How comes?Well, first, he met Sora again.And then he met Sora's brother.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas/Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas/Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 32





	1. One step forward

**Author's Note:**

> hello yes i love vanven and my brain decided "OKAY BUT WHAT IF LONG FIC WITH TONS OF PLOT POINTS AND WITCHCRAFT AND LIKE WHAT IF YOU TOOK THE BASIC IDEA OF HARRY POTTER FLIPPED IT SAID FUCK TERFS AND ADDED VANVEN AND HAVE THEM ALL BE SAD YOUNG ADULTS"
> 
> i mean hello yes strap in for this long fic, it's gonna be a wild ride
> 
> also xion goes by they/them. i make the rules now.
> 
> (No TWs for this chapter. Every chapter will have them in the notes at the beginning, or at least I'll try to put them every time)

"Ventus! Are you done packing yet? The movers will be here soon!"

Ventus  raised his head from the half-empty box he had been trying to burrow into,  turning around to shout back.

"Almost done, dad! Just need a few more minutes!" He answered, pointedly ignoring the mountains of stuff he had  _ not _ packed yet that had accumulated in the corners. So what? It didn't take time to pack fabrics and fragile supplies, right?

Ventus sighed, and resigned to his fate of actually needing to get started. He finally covered a few phials in bubble wrap when his brother passed by his door.

"Need a hand?" Roxas asked, poking his head in to look at his brother in a way that was definitely not mocking, a grin plastered on his face.

"Would you shut up and help me? I don't need dad to know I'm not anywhere near done!" Ventus bit back, attempting to stuff as much of his supplies at the bottom of the moving box.

Ventus' family (as well as his brother's significant other, Xion) was finally moving back to town, after having left about a decade ago, when a climate of tension had been rising amongst the Magical communities. 

About ten years ago, a powerful dark wizard named  Xehanort had slowly risen to power, dominating over entire towns through sheer power. Their government at the time had been weak, brought to shambles through corruption and bribes, and thus many homes had been terrorized over by the dark wizard.

What had finally prompted Ventus' family to move out of town, however, was that his and Roxas' mother had been caught in an attack from the followers of  Xehanort and died, leaving her husband,  Eraqus , to mourn and raise his then 11-years old twin sons by himself. They had lived peacefully, there, amongst the quiet boredom of rural life. They had few friends – Ventus had Terra and Aqua, the two a few years older than him, while Roxas had Xion, his now significant other who lived with them, and Lea, a local fire witch who may or may not have once or twice set their shared school on fire.

In the last few months, the newly-reformed government of the Magical communities, the Council, had finally managed to take down the tyrannical wizard  Xehanort , bringing an end to his reign of terror. No one knew how the Council had pulled it off – Everything was kept under tight wraps. It meant, however, that cities were no longer under constant attack, which was what had prompted  Eraqus to move back.

Ventus mourned the fact that he'd leave Aqua and Terra behind, but he had promised he'd keep contact and visit them as  often as he could. He was, however, curious about the friends he had left in the town when they had moved ten years ago. He knew for a fact Roxas had kept contact with a few of them, Sora, Kairi, and Hayner to give a few names. Ventus had only known them through Roxas, being a lot more reserved back then, but he was curious to know if they'd remember him, and how much they had changed since before everything.

"What're you thinking about?" Roxas cut through Ventus' thought, interrupting his musings.

"I'm just wondering if your friends from town remember me too. I mean, it's been ten years..."

"Pretty sure they do. Sora asked how you were doing a few times, at least."

"He did?! Why didn't you tell me?" Ventus asked, looking a bit surprised.

"Didn't think you'd want to know? I mean, you didn't talk to them much back then."

"I- you're right..." Ventus deflated, going back to attempting to close a moving box that was way too full. 

"Pretty sure not even that much tape can close that one, Ven." Roxas interrupted him with a snicker. 

"Shut up! I swear I can close it."

* * *

"And that's the last one! Please check that all your boxes are here before delivering your moving fee." The mover witch kindly explained before whipping out a checklist. 

Truly, mover witches were one of the wonderful things about Magical communities. They had a simple job, figuring out ways to make sure no normal humans were looking towards the houses they were working on and then taking care of teleporting not just moving boxes, but also furniture and even pets from the previous location to the new one.

And so, in the blink of an eye, Ventus found himself from his old home to a slightly smaller house in a non-magical street of the nearby town. 

His father had picked a non-magical street for a simple reason – If any of  Xehanort's followers remained, they would likely attack the Magical communities first, and most of them lived in the enchanted streets hidden between the walls of the town. 

The first thing that Ventus did was set up his room. Amongst the many things he needed to do, he first shoved his bed in the corner closest to the window – he liked waking up with the sun – and then worked on setting up his pets' corner.

Ventus was the proud owner of three birds – A white owl named  Ephemer , a raven named Skuld, and a crossbill named  Lauriam , all three magical familiars that had been wounded one way or another, thus lowering their chances of being adopted by anyone else. He had found them at a shelter, and had been their happy caretaker since. 

In the room next to his own, Ventus could hear the screeching of furniture against the floor as Roxas and Xion set up what would be their shared room. They had originally pondered getting Xion a separate apartment of their own, but after all the time they had lived together, Xion settled on still living with them. That was fine with Ventus – Xion had lived in the same house as them for the past five, almost six years now, so it didn't really change a thing. 

With a smile, Ventus pulled open the window of his room, encouraging his pet birds to fly free while he was moving things around. In the meantime, he'd take care of unpacking his stuff, starting with his work supplies.

Ventus, at 21 years old, was an apprentice rune witch. He enjoyed writing enchantments and such for a living, and the versatility of runes was something he truly loved. Unpacking several bottles of carefully enchanted ink, he set out his writing supplies on his desk, making sure not to spill any drop of ink anywhere or he'd have to clean up for hours. Next came the many different types of paper he had: regular paper, scrolls, papyrus, even traditionally carved wood, all meant for different uses for different types of witchcraft. And finally, his tools: quills, brushes, even fountain pens. 

Different works required different tools, after all. 

As an apprentice rune witch, Ventus was required to alternate between actual studying for half of his days, and working in a shop for the other. Back in his rural home, he had worked in the general witch shop of his very small town, as there was nowhere else. However, here, in a big town, he had found a job in a specialized rune-workshop that accepted apprentices before even moving. He hoped he could also find actual classes to attend – He learned better there than he did when receiving his lessons through e-mails. 

His important supplies now unpacked , Ventus decided to leave the rest for later. He had seen enough moving boxes for his entire day.

"Hey, dad?" He called out through their new home. "Mind if I go out to town? I  wanna explore!"

Roxas poked out of his room, quickly followed by Xion.

"Can we come with you?" The younger twin asked, a glimmer in his eyes. Ventus was seemingly not the only one who wanted to escape unpacking.

"Are you three done already?" Was Roxas and Ventus' father's response, which only received silence as an answer. After a few moments, Eraqus stepped out of his own room and crossed his arms.

Ventus nervously scratched the back of his neck, and Roxas pointedly looked away.

Eraqus then sighed. "Fine, you can go. But please be back before night time." He requested, his eyes softening. 

"Will do! Thanks dad!" Ven answered, before rushing out of the house, his brother and Xion not far behind.

* * *

Ventus, Roxas and Xion were quick to head to the location of the city's main magical shopping street, slipping in the hidden ways between the walls of the town.

They were immediately welcomed by the sight of shops of all kind – A workshop that specialized in dragon-scale-woven protective clothing, a witch's potion shop, a store that only sold books about runes (Ventus almost started drooling), a bar that _quite openly_ welcomed plenty of succubi and incubi in want of food, a flower shop that almost looked out of place with how succinctly decorated the façade was...

There was so much that the twins had not seen since they were younger, and never explored by themselves, and that Xion had never seen at all. 

The first place they decided to visit was the library, at Ventus' insistent request. He happily chatted with the owner for a few minutes, perusing the rows of books with curious yet happy eyes, wanting to open every book and see everything. However, when Roxas and Xion began to get bored, he settled on simply buying two books on ancient runes, promising he'd come back another day to look around more.

The three of them then went around some more, not entering any shop but instead simply looking around, enjoying sights of a world they had not been able to properly see until now.

They eventually decided to take a break after an hour and a half, looking for a place where they could stop and have a drink, and maybe ice cream.

And that is when they ran into a familiar face.

Roxas was the first to spot him, a familiar untamed hairdo of brown spikes going in every direction. Ventus was quick to see next, noticing that he really hadn't changed in ten years. Xion was simply confused, having heard of him from Roxas but never met before.

"Sora!" Roxas called out, breaking into a sprint to catch up to the boy.

Sora turned around and immediately proceeded to squish Roxas in the tightest hug possible.

"Roxaaaaaaaaas! It's been so loooong!" He almost broke into tears in the middle of the busy street. Roxas, in the meantime, looked like he was struggling to breathe.

"Owch... Sora... Glad to see you too... Can't breathe..." He choked out before Sora released him, looking almost apologetic.

"Roxas! Ventus!" The person next to Sora, who the twins now recognized as Kairi, greeted. "It  _ has  _ been a while!" 

"Yeah... Hello, Kairi... Sora..." Ventus waved, feeling a bit awkward. Xion looked about the same.

"Who are they?" A taller, silver-haired boy who had been standing on the other side of Sora asked. 

"Oh, sorry! Riku, meet Roxas and Ventus. We were friends a while ago! Roxas, Ven, meet Riku."

"Hello, Riku. I'm Roxas, that's my twin Ventus, and the one who's trying to hide behind me is Xion." Roxas said, dragging Xion back from behind him. 

"H-hi!" Xion stammered out, looking shy and out of place.

"Hey, Xion! It's nice to meet you!" Sora said with a signature wide grin, one that Ven felt hadn't changed one bit in ten years.

"I-it's nice to meet you too!" They answered, trying to hide behind Roxas again.

"So, you're Roxas?" Riku asked, changing the topic. "I've heard a lot about you from Sora." He almost grinned.

"What did he even tell you?" Roxas looked surprised. 

"Nothing! I swear! I didn't tell him anything about all the stuff we pulled back then!" Sora answered, a terrible liar as always. Roxas immediately shoved his face in his palms.

* * *

The conversation went on like that, Sora doing most of the talking and catching up with Roxas while the rest chimed in now and then.

"So, what do you three do now then? You graduated high school what, three years ago?" 

Along their long chat, Ventus, Roxas and Xion learned that Riku and Kairi had just graduated high school themselves and were looking into different paths, while Sora was redoing his final year after beautifully failing his exams.

"Well, I don't really know what I want to do yet. Ventus is an apprentice rune witch, and Xion, well..."

"I don't want to talk about it." They added, purposefully looking away.

"That's fine!" Said Sora. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." 

Just as he finished his sentence, a bell tolled once, ringing to tell the world that it was half-past five in the afternoon.

"Oh  sh -" Sora interrupted himself. "It's getting late! I  gotta hop by my brother's, then I gotta go home. Sorry!"

"Your brother?" Roxas squinted at Sora. "You never told me you have a brother."

"I didn't? Well, I mean, I didn't know either back then, but I still gotta go!"

"Wait! Can we go with you? I mean, you know my brother, only fair I get to meet yours." Roxas asked, and Sora took a moment to think.

"Well, sure thing. I don't think he'll mind if I bring more people to his shop."

Sora then took off, quickly followed by Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Ventus and Xion. 

A few minutes later, a small bell ran as Sora wrenched open the door to the flower shop the twins and Xion had passed by when they first arrived in the magical streets. 

It was quiet within the shop, no other client to be disturbed by Sora's noisy arrival, only a few flowers turning towards them as if acknowledging their presence.

" Vaaaaan ! I'm here with a present from  moooom !" Sora shouted through the shop, earning hisses from a few flowers. 

"Would you stop shouting already?" A voice rang out from the back of the shop, and then the door behind the counter opened, and from it emerged Vanitas.

With ebony hair, gold eyes that Ventus would swear he had seen somewhere before and looking like he had been disturbed in the middle of something, it was nonetheless quite easy to recognize that Vanitas definitely was part of Sora's family, the spikes in his hair just as untamed as his brother's.

He took the time to scratch one of the disgruntled flowers while making his way towards them, and stopped a few meters before Sora. 

"'s it the usual?" He asked, looking as disinterested as possible as he took a small package from Sora's hand. 

"Yep! A bit more of it than usual, though. Mom says to make good use of it! Oh, and while I'm here, meet a few more of my friends. This is Ven, Roxas and Xion!" Sora explained, pointing to each of them one by one.

"Cool. Can you leave now? You woke up the flowers." Was his brother's answer, as he looked  annoyed.

"Rude! But okay. Sorry for waking up the flowers!" And then Sora stepped out of the shop as quickly as he had walked in, everyone following behind.

"That was... Weird?" Ventus noted as soon as the door closed behind them.

"Nah, he's always like that. He's just bad at showing that he cares." Sora said with half a grin on his face.

"I'm wondering, though." Roxas cut in. "How come I never heard of your brother? I didn't even know he existed." Immediately, Sora looked a bit awkward.

"Well, technically, he's my half-brother. But I just call him my brother." He started explaining. "And, well. I didn't really know he existed back then?"

"How does that even work?" 

"Weeell, that's complicated and it's not my story to tell? You can ask my mom if you want... Wait, my mom! I need to get home soon!" Sora suddenly panicked and took off sprinting, leaving Kairi giggling and Riku staring behind him, mildly amused.

"He's had a curfew since he failed his exams," Riku explained. "If he's not back home by 6, his moms keep him from leaving home for two days."

"And he really doesn't like being kept indoors!" Kairi kept giggling. "It's pretty funny to see."

"Isn't he 18, by now? Can his moms even keep him from leaving at that age?" Ven  questioned . 

"Well, you know him. He'd do anything they ask, honestly." Riku had a bit of a smile on his face. "He really loves his family."

"You know, it's gonna get dark soon." Xion noticed. "Maybe we should head home too? Eraqus said he'd prefer if we were back by night."

"Oh, you're right," Roxas responded. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Riku, and nice seeing you again, Kairi," Roxas said. "We'll head home, now. See you another day!" He waved, and the newly-moved trio took off towards their home.

* * *

Later that day, as Ventus was getting ready for bed, he found himself once more wondering where he had seen those gold eyes before.


	2. The Piercing Eyes of a Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ventus gets settled a little bit more in the city, and the first day of work comes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once more, huge thanks to the sweetest beta in the universe. She really helps me be less anxious about story pacing.

Ventus woke up. Stared at the moving boxes piled in a corner that still needed to be unpacked and put away. 

And promptly went back to sleep. 

He woke up half an hour later with a raven perched on the headboard, pecking at his face. 

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Skuld, I'll feed you, you don't need to attack me..." He muttered, half-awake and not ready to face the day. 

Three happy birds later, Ven once more decided _not_ to tackle the unpacking problem, and instead to go scout around more precisely for where he would work from the next day on. 

Today was Sunday, and he had already been given his schedule: every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday morning, as well as the entirety of Friday, he would spend at work in the rune workshop, helping the owner with the commissions he received. 

Ventus was quite happy with that schedule, because it left him plenty of time to do other things, and he quite notably wanted to fit in one of the advanced Rune courses of the nearby University instead of having to study online. As much as he appreciated the Internet, nothing could beat watching a teacher write runes with chalk on a blackboard. 

He stepped out of his room, careful not to wake up his brother and Xion behind the next door, and went to the kitchen to find his father already preparing coffee. The both of them had always been the early risers in the house, even on days off. 

"Mornin', dad!" Ventus greeted cheerfully, going over to make his own breakfast. 

"Good morning, Ventus. Are you done unpacking yet?" Eraqus asked with a raised eyebrow, already knowing the answer. 

Ventus discreetly ignored the question, scratching at the back of his neck. 

"I was thinking of going back to town today!" He started. "I know shops are closed, but I want to check out the place I'll work at and the places around it, you know?" 

His father gave him a look that clearly indicated his disapproval at ignoring the necessary unpacking, then moved on. "A good initiative. But please, be careful in town. Xehanort's followers may still be around." 

Ventus gave a sour smile. "Come on, dad. There hasn't been an attack in _months_ , and as far as the news go, more and more of his followers are getting caught. There's no reason to think we're not safe." 

The pained expression that crossed Eraqus' face betrayed his thoughts. Ten years may have passed, but he had never truly gotten over his wife's death. The man simply hid his face in his coffee. 

"Besides, it's Sunday. There can't be that many people out on a Sunday, right?" 

* * *

There could definitely be many people out on a Sunday, was what Ventus learned the moment he set foot in the main hidden street. 

Witches, demons of all kinds, various magical creatures and even a few animated golems were walking through the street, barely leaving any space to walk for Ventus, as he desperately tried to squeeze through the crowds to find his way to a less animated alley. 

The rune workshop was still quite a walk away, and he could only breathe a sigh of relief as he made it to an almost-deserted road. 

It was only then that he remembered that this was the Magical part of the world. Days didn't mean anything to a lot of them, due to the different approach to time that many species had. 

With a sigh and the sudden realization that his Sundays at work would be hectic, Ventus made his way towards the workshop. It was still a good ten minutes walk away, but he was no longer in the shopping part of the hidden streets for now, and wouldn't be until he reached his destination. 

He enjoyed the sights as he made his way there, looking at the many houses, some stacked on top of each other, all hidden beneath the veil that covered magical entities from what was called the 'normal' society. 

Not that Ventus liked the name, really. 

He passed by what he remembered was Sora's house, grinning as he remembered the many tricks and such Roxas and Sora had pulled when they were children. He had been caught with them a few times, and sourly remembered being scolded even when he was innocent. 

The memories left him nostalgic, and he found himself humming a few songs to himself as he approached his workplace. 

The streets were crowded once more, though not nearly as much as the main alley, and he was able to make his way to see the front of the Workshop. 

"Merlin's Runeworks" was its rather simple name, in quiet shades of blue on the sign above the door. Next to said door, behind a glass display was a blackboard on which were scribbled in a neat script the different choices the workshop's artisans offered. 

Ven wasn't going to walk in, as tempting as it was – He was only expected tomorrow, and felt that it would be rude to come in a day earlier, but he did want to get to know the surroundings. 

On the other side of the street from the workshop was a library, a public one where all sorts of books could be borrowed as long as you had a card, which had been a very small expense of a few munnies. Ventus had already quickly scoured through the rows and rows of books, and found that he would tremendously enjoy hanging out here. 

He borrowed a book about engraved runes, adding to the pile of 'To-be-read' along with the two he had purchased the previous day, and made his way out of the library happy to have found something he liked. 

Next, he spotted a bakery and decided that Roxas and Xion would appreciate it if he bought them breakfast. 

* * *

"I'm home!" Ventus called out as walked in, trying his best to juggle the book, a box of pastries and the doorknob he had to pull down. 

He turned around to look in the kitchen to find Xion drinking coffee straight from the machine while Roxas had his forehead embedded in the table. 

"Are you two okay?" Ventus asked with an unrestrained giggle. 

"Dad woke us up..." Roxas mumbled, clearly half-asleep, his voice muffled by the table. 

Xion stopped guzzling down coffee for a moment. "Why couldn't we just stay asleep? We're still on summer break and Roxas isn't even signed up for any courses yet!" They complained, before returning to their drink. 

"Well, if you weren't awake you wouldn't be able to eat the pastries I brought back. Would be too bad, they're still warm..." Ventus snickered, and found two pairs of eyes fixated straight on the box in his hands. 

"Pastries..." Xion started drooling. 

Ventus put the box down on the table, watching as the two suddenly-awake zombies of the house play-fought over who would get it. 

"Give- me- that- box, Roxas! I need more food than you!" Xion argued. 

"Just because you need more food doesn't mean you get the whole box!" 

"I'm sure Ven bought it thinking of me instead of you! Give it to meeeee!" 

Ventus wanted to watch the tug-o-war, hoping the box was sturdy enough not to break under the two's fight, but instead headed to his room to actually finish his unpacking. Welcomed by the cheerful chirp of his birds, he took the time to pet and ruffle their feathers before setting to work. 

He still had so many boxes to empty, but first and foremost came his collection of books, which was what would take the most time considering he wanted them all in perfect order on his shelves, which he still had to pick a spot for. He certainly remembered why he was so reluctant to unpack. 

Finally setting to work, he put the shelf up against his bed so that he could be lazy and grab books without leaving his blankets, and then sorted all of them one by one. He had plenty of different things, from those painfully expensive student books to children's stories, as well as a full set of encyclopaedias his father had gifted him for his 18th birthday. 

Those were so heavy he found himself wishing he had access to magic instead of witchcraft, and he painstakingly made sure that all of them were perfectly upright. After all, if he kept adding books, he'd need as much space as possible. 

Next came his set of student books, which he manipulated as though they were the most precious thing in the universe. Which they could've been, considering the price. One of them he had carefully bound himself, treating each page like it would tear at the slightest pull. Once that was done, he followed that by cramming as many of his books about runes between the previous ones and the side of the shelf so that everything would stay upright. 

He couldn't have pages get folded because the books fell, could he? 

Taking a small break, Ventus opened the window again, letting his pet birds out. The next books were ones not about witchcraft at all, the kind of books he instead had accumulated from his childhood, most purchased from regular shops. Some children's stories, some teenage adventures, and he some he found funny simply because they were stories about a theoretical magical world from a 'normal' person's point of view. 

All those stories, about a different world, about heroes who defeated monsters, about happy families reunited at the end of a great adventure, had been his refuge during his awkward teenage years. He had still been grieving, back then, and had been too shy to approach anyone besides Terra and Aqua. 

Curiosity, amusement and nostalgia in his eyes, Ventus pulled one of these many books from the bottom of the box and lost himself to one of those simpler stories for a few minutes. 

* * *

Minutes turned to hours, and when he was finally done unpacking, Ventus lifted his head to see that it was growing dark outside. 

He _had_ come home around twelve, but he hadn't expected to spend his entire afternoon emptying boxes. Maybe he should've expected to, especially since at least an entire hour had been spent re-reading childhood stories. 

He had also completely ignored the fact that he was hungry, and that it was now too late in the evening to snatch a pastry instead of an actual meal. 

With a sigh, he set off to make dinner. It was his turn today anyway, and as soon as classes picked up, he'd be absolved from food duty. 

* * *

"Oh, by the way, Ven! Sora wanted to show us around town tomorrow afternoon, you in?" Roxas asked after dinner, as Ventus was piling used dishes in the sink. 

"Once I'm done with work, sure." 

"Oh yeah, you're starting tomorrow, aren't you?" Xion asked. "Will you be alright? I've always heard first jobs are stressful..." 

"I'm sure I'll be fine." He answered with a nervous smile. "The shop owner seemed really nice in his mails." 

"Okay. You'll tell us everything about it when you come home, anyway, right?" Xion requested. 

"He'd better," Roxas added. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'll tell you everything. And I'll probably tell Sora everything too, because I'm sure he'll ask." 

"That does sound something he'd do," Roxas confirmed. "Anyway, unpacking killed me. 'M going to sleep." He muttered the last part. 

"Do you ever do anything other than sleeping?" His brother asked. 

"Dunno, do you ever do anything other than reading?" 

"… Touché, I guess? But still. Maybe you should figure out what you'll do when uni picks up?" 

Roxas shot him a half-hearted glare, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. 

"I mean, I'm just saying, you know. But I'm sure dad'll be fine with you taking this year off if you need to." 

"Yeah, I hope so..." 

"Come on, Rox, let's get going." Xion cut in, encouraging Roxas away from the conversation. Before going away, however, they sent a concerned look towards Ventus, at which he simply shrugged. 

There wasn't much he could do if his brother felt a bit lost. 

And if he were to be honest, he thought Xion shouldn't protect Roxas so much. At some point, he had to face the fact that he didn't know what to do with his life. 

Ventus took his time washing the dishes, clearing his thoughts at the same time to avoid his fears when it came to Roxas' future. Instead, he found himself thinking about tomorrow, his first day at work. 

It was strange to think about. To him, working meant being an adult, and even though he was 21 he struggled to think of himself as one. After all, he had always lived with his family, and even though he knew plenty of other people like him still lived with their parents, it was a strange thought. From tomorrow on, he'd be working half-time and studying the other half, only to start working full time when he'd be done with his studies. His path was already traced, and he supposed he'd probably spend his entire life doing the same thing. 

It sounded... Boring, almost. He suddenly reminded himself he shouldn't think about those things, or he'd get that odd feeling of vertigo again. 

Drying the dishes and putting them away, Ventus instead turned his thoughts to the people he had already met here. Sora, Riku, and Kairi. 

Sora seemed as nice as he remembered him. Overly friendly, always smiling and ready to crush just about anyone in the tightest hugs possible, if Roxas' experience yesterday was anything to go from. 

He was also kind of cute, now that Ventus thought about it. 

Shaking his head, he let his thoughts move on to the next person he had known. 

Kairi hadn't changed much, teasing Sora at any occasion she had and openly joking about his failure to graduate like it hadn't been a problem at all. 

Ventus would probably have found her cute too, if he had been into women. 

The last one in the three, and newly introduced to them, had been Riku. Ventus found himself wondering how long had Sora known him and how they'd met, and also slightly bitterly if he'd taken Roxas' place in Sora's life after they moved. 

Why were his thoughts heading downwards like that? 

Forcing the bad away, Ventus let his ruminations stray to the last person they had met yesterday, Vanitas. 

Sora's brother had seemed rude in what little time they had met him, but according to Sora's words he was simply bad at showing he cared. 

From the way Vanitas had talked to his brother, he really thought that was unlikely, but Sora had said there was a whole story to him, so perhaps that had to do with it. 

Ventus wondered what kind of story could make someone so rude to their own brother. 

Finishing up his chore, he decided he'd read until he was too sleepy to stay up instead of panicking about his first day of work tomorrow. 

* * *

The sun rose, Ventus' alarm rang, and with it started a tight timer. 

One hour and a half to get to work. 

Ventus fed his birds, dressed himself up properly and rushed to the kitchen to make himself breakfast. His father was already there, preparing coffee as he always did in the morning. 

"Your first day of work, then. Will you be alright, Ventus?" 

"I... Think so? I mean, I hope... It's... Just work, right?" Ventus was scratching at the back his neck frenetically. 

"If you need anything, Ventus, please don't hesitate to call." Eraqus brought a hand to his son's shoulder. "This is an important day for you. I... Want to support you in it." 

Ventus was sweating bullets. "Thanks dad, but you know... It's not that important, right?" He laughed nervously. 

There was an awkward moment of silence, and Eraqus removed his hand from Ventus' shoulder. 

"I know you've been worried about today, son. And even if I may not be the greatest father there is... I do want you to know that me, as well as your brother? We are both here for you if you need us." 

"I... Thank you, dad. It... means a lot to me." 

Eraqus gave him one of his rare few smiles, indicating not just that he meant his words, but also that the conversation was over. 

Neither of them was a big talker. 

Breakfast went on in almost awkward silence, and Ventus headed back to his room to prepare. Once more opening wide the windows, he wondered what this day would have in reserve for him as he watched the birds fly out. 

He went to the door, and as he walked outside, he took in a deep breath. 

Today would be fine, at least so he hoped. 

He made it to the workshop in about fifteen minutes, and checked his phone as soon as he made it to the right street. 

Half an hour ahead of schedule. 

Letting out a tightly-held breath, Ventus found himself wishing he had taken his time more. 

"Excuse me!" A kind, soft voice called out to him. He turned around to find a young woman looking at him with kind blue eyes that felt as though they were staring into his soul. 

"Are you Ventus?" She asked. 

"Uh... That's me?" He stammered awkwardly. 

"Good! I'm Naminé, Merlin's assistant. I've been told you'd start today, so I thought I'd come early to open the workshop for you... I'm glad I did. Come on in!" She ushered him, unlocking the door. 

"Wh- Uh- Wasn't Merlin supposed to-" He started, but was interrupted by Naminé's look. 

"Merlin always shows up right on opening time. Never one second before!" She assured him. "So he asked me to show you around. Here, through that door there." She said, pointing to an adjacent room. He stepped in to find two fully furnished desks, as well as shelves upon shelves of many different things, some he recognized, some not. 

"This'll be your writing desk! Merlin's own is in the other room, and the one next to you is mine. This shelf here-" She gestured to the one closest to them, "is pigments! All the jars are labelled, but Merlin did the writing, so you might just want to learn which is which by heart..." 

Ventus nodded, doing his best to follow Naminé as she showed him the place she was clearly passionate about. 

"The next four shelves are all ink ingredients, as well as recipe books on the furthest one. They're also mostly handwritten by Merlin, so I'd suggest asking him or me before doing anything for the first few weeks. Neither of us will mind, I promise..." 

"Wait- you two make _all_ of the inks by yourselves?" 

Naminé nodded. "That's right! Merlin insists that we can get all kinds of good ingredients here in town, and that it's better when the ink is freshly made, so he taught me. Oh, the next shelf has carving tools as well as the different types of woods the shop offers to do runework on, and the one after that is the stones. That reminds me, we are expecting a delivery of blank marble tablets this morning, so you'll probably get to see our entire stock of those in those crates. Otherwise, we just keep them closed, or everything gets dusty..." 

Naminé was rambling. It was clearly passionate rambling about a topic that she found interesting, but Ventus had to admit he was having trouble keeping up. 

"Finally, the next two shelves are all different types of pens and brushes, and the last one is all paper. That bench over there is where we make the inks, but I suggest you wear gloves when you go there. Last time, I got pigments all over my hands, and they were blue for three days... I wouldn't recommend trying to explain that to your family. They thought I was turning into a pixie..." 

"I... Uh... Thank you for showing me around?" Ventus said, awkwardly. 

"Oh, you're welcome! I- Oh, I started rambling about again, didn't I? I'm so sorry..." 

"It's fine!" He assured. "I caught everything you said." 

"You- you did? I'm glad! But please don't hesitate if you're not sure where to find something. Merlin and I will be more than happy to help. Oh! That reminds me, it's almost opening time, isn't it? Merlin will be here soon, then. Come on, let's go wait for him." She went back to the first room and checked the old clock on the wall for time. "Two minutes until opening time. Oh, by the way, Merlin's owl takes care of welcoming the clients, so please don't worry about that. Any commission that comes our way will be delivered straight to our desks!" 

"His... Owl?" 

"Yes, his owl. His name is Archimedes, and he is... grumpy, to say the least. He can speak, and can be annoying, so if he gets on your nerves just flick water at him. He really, really doesn't like it." 

"Do I want to antagonize the talking owl?" 

Naminé giggled. "He won't hold it against you, I promise. He knows how he comes across." 

A few seconds later, a sudden cloud of smoke appeared in the middle of the room, and out of it came an old-looking man with a long beard and round glasses, as well as a ruffled owl. 

"And I am telling you, Merlin, your new assistant _is_ coming today, and you should probably have shown up earlier to show him around!" 

"And I am telling you he is coming _tomorrow_ , Archime- Oh, hello there, young man! Are you here to order something?" 

Ventus scratched at the back of his neck, and Archimedes, the _talking owl_ , covered his face in his wings. 

"Good morning, Merlin!" Naminé cut in, somewhat oblivious. "This is Ventus! He's the assistant Archi said was coming today. I already showed him around!" 

"Oh! Thank you, Naminé. Good morning, young Ventus, and welcome to my workshop!" 

Ventus had a sudden feeling he would enjoy working here. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WORLDBUILDING! There's gonna be plenty of it before the main pairing really appears.


	3. Starting a Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ventus' first day of work, and an exploration of the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More worldbuilding, more characterization!
> 
> Big thanks to the people who comment, as well as to the sweet beta-reader who helps pick up on my janky English. Hope you enjoy this chapter \o/
> 
> (No TWs for this chapter.)

"Alright, so Archimedes gave us these three orders." 

After spending a few minutes acquainting with Merlin and Archimedes, the workshop owner had sent them to work in their own room, with the owl handing them three pieces of paper rolled up and closed with a neat wax seal. 

Naminé broke each one with a smooth movement, and laid all three of them down on Ventus' desk. 

"Pick one, and we'll get you started, alright?" 

Ventus nodded, and then read each order one by one. 

A tablet to ward off pixies, a scroll to help an old witch sleep, and... 

"Oh, actually, maybe you shouldn't take that one on your first day. It looks a bit complicated..." Naminé commented, removing the third paper from his desk and putting it away on her own. "Both of these are fairly simple, though, so up to you!" 

Ventus took a moment to think, then picked. "I'll take the sleep scroll. Looks easier to do." 

"Alright," Naminé answered, snatching the other paper from his desk. "Will you need any help with that?" 

"I think I'll be fine." If there was one thing Ventus was confident about, it was his knowledge of runes. "I'll definitely need to ask where the ingredients are for the ink, though." 

"Oh! Right." Naminé smiled. "Well, all the ingredients on the shelves are sorted in alphabetic order, and the dyes are sorted by colour, but I'll still show you where to find everything, and the tools you'll need. Come on, follow me." She beckoned him, heading towards the shelves. "Do you know what we'll need for a sleep scroll?" 

From the top of his head, Ventus listed the different ingredients he would need, following Naminé and picking things off the shelves she showed him. He carried everything to the workbench on the other side of the room, putting everything down neatly on the surface. 

"First, you're gonna need work gloves. Here, use these – Merlin went and bought them for you the day you applied!" Naminé said, handing him a pair of what he suspected were gardening gloves, looking brand new. 

"Okay, we have a stash of clean bottles in the drawer of the workbench, but if you run out there's more on the shelf over there. Ideally, you only want to make as much ink as you'll need for this order, but if you make too much, you can put it in this box." She said, pointing to a messy-looking box under the workbench. She then slipped on her own pair of gloves, an old, somewhat worn one that was covered in so many splashes that he wasn't sure what colour they originally were. 

Ventus opened the drawer she had mentioned, taking out a small bottle and putting it on the workbench. Then, he slipped on the gloves Naminé had handed him. They were... surprisingly comfortable. A warm feeling curled in his chest when he remembered that they were bought just for him. 

"Okay! We can set to work now. Have you ever made ink before, Ventus?" 

"Yeah, a few times. You can call me Ven, by the way." 

"Alright, Ven! I'm sure you've already noticed, but all the tools you should need are on this table. I've already told you, but in case you forget, there are recipe books over there if you need them. Is there... anything you need help with, before I go start on my orders?" 

"Uh..." Ventus took a moment to think, scanning everything on the workbench, making sure it was all familiar. Nothing seemed too different from his usual tools, so he shook his head. "No, I should be fine." 

"Okay. I'll be at my desk, then. If you need help with anything, please ask!" 

On these words, Naminé set off to grab a few tools from the shelves before heading to her work, leaving Ventus to make the ink he required. It took him a few minutes, crushing ingredients with a pestle and mixing it all, ending up with a nice, shimmering purple ink. 

"That looks good. Great job, Ven!" Naminé encouraged him as he sat down at his desk, bottle of ink and dip pen in hand. 

"Th-thank you..." He responded, unused to being complimented on things like that. "How's your order going?" He asked, curious about how fast he'd be expected to complete those in the future. 

"Slowly," She responded with a smile. "I haven't finished sketching it out yet." 

"Don't you get orders for things like that often?" 

"For protection against pixies? Not really," She answered honestly. "They're not a problem in the city. We get requests for wards against imps more often, though, to the point we've made a small stock of those. That reminds me, we'll need to make new ones soon..." 

With no more comments to add, Ventus set to work sketching out his own order. It didn't take him too long, about twenty minutes spent in a comfortable silence as the two worked. 

"Can I ask something?" He finally requested, while stretching the paper he'd finally write the runes on. 

"Of course! What is it?" Naminé replied, looking up at him. 

"When Merlin appeared in the shop, earlier... Did he somehow teleport through witchcraft, or was it...?" 

"Oh! No, no, it wasn't witchcraft. It was magic." She didn't seem too surprised that he was asking. 

"Magic?" Ventus asked, concern on his face. "Don't tell me he stole it from a demon?!" 

"Wh- No! No, Merlin wouldn't do that. He'd never. No, he's a cambion!" 

"A half-demon...? But I thought those born from incubi and succubi didn't inherit any magic?" 

"Those don't. Merlin's mother was an elder demon." Naminé corrected. 

"An elder-? Whoa... I've never heard of elder demons mingling with humans." 

"As far as we know, they normally don't... Merlin could tell you more about that, honestly." She explained, slowly scratching at a stone tablet with a sharp tool. "In any case, Merlin can use magic. If you see any books randomly flying around, that's what it is. Honestly, I'm a bit jealous..." Naminé admitted. 

Ventus blinked. "To be fair, me too. Magic seems convenient for a lot of things." 

"It does, doesn't it?" She agreed. "Imagine being able to get out of bed only five minutes before work because you can just teleport there!" 

"Or not needing to carry heavy things around and just being able to teleport them without needing to trace circles everywhere..." 

"Oh, that would help so much..." 

The two laughed for a bit, conversing further about the convenience that would be magic for a few more minutes before Archimedes flew in, looking extremely grouchy. 

"New orders from regulars." He explained in a short, clipped tone before dropping two pieces of paper on their tables, then flying back out, the door closing behind him. 

Naminé was quick to remove the seals and open the two papers, quickly checking them out. 

"An appointment for a werewolf who needs renewed suppressants, and an imp ward request. The werewolf is a regular client..." She mused, before explaining further upon seeing Ventus' questioning look. "Some werewolves use runes instead of potions, or even both, to make sure they don't have any problems when the full moon rises. Because, you know..." 

"Oh. Yeah," Was his short answer, unsure about how to talk about such a sensitive topic. He had never met any werewolves himself, but he knew their lives were hard. "How do they work...?" 

"Do you know how tattoos are drawn?" She asked. Ventus nodded, and so she kept explaining. "Well, it's pretty much the same, but we use ephemeral ink. The runes would stop functioning after about two months, more or less depending on the person, so we use ink that fades a bit before that so that the person knows when to get new ones. I've heard the potion werewolves need tastes awful, so a lot of them prefer runes..."

"Isn't getting a tattoo painful?" 

"I... believe it's less painful than turning into a monster." 

That silenced Ventus. 

* * *

The morning went on quietly, Archimedes occasionally dropping new orders to them with nothing too special. Naminé and Ventus worked mostly in silence, completing their work at different paces, Naminé's hand clearly more trained at this than Ventus'. Eventually, outside, the bell rang half-past twelve, and it was time for him to go home. 

"Thank you for showing me around, Naminé. See you tomorrow?" 

"See you tomorrow, Ven." She answered with a smile. "I'll be here at the same time as today, so if you want to see more of the shop, you can also meet me here early!" 

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you!" He replied, before heading off. 

This time, he walked through the busy streets instead of the quieter ways, wanting to get home as fast as possible. It wasn't as busy as it had been the previous days, most of the people he passed by likely enjoying their lunch breaks before heading back to an afternoon of work. 

Since it wasn't his case, he took the time to check out the things he had paid less attention to, though still walking at a decent pace towards his home. 

A few minutes later he was there, walking in to find his brother taking his turn at making food. 

"Hey, I'm home!" He called out, not wanting to give him a scare while he was cooking, remembering how harshly he had been scolded by Eraqus the one time he had done that. 

"Hey, Ven! How'd your first day of work go?" Xion asked from their seat on the couch, on the other side of the room from the open kitchen. 

"It went well, I think. I'm working with someone else who's been there for a while, so she's been showing me the ropes..." 

"Glad to hear you have nice co-workers," came from Roxas. "You ready to deal with Sora for an entire afternoon?" He then asked, a smirk on his face. 

"I mean, it's not an entire afternoon if he has to be home by 6, is it?" 

"True. I don't even think it'll take him that long to show us around, the town isn't _that_ big, but hey. You know how much Sora can talk." 

"It's nice of him to show us around, though," Xion added. "I've never been here before, so learning more about it helps." 

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you haven't been here before... Sorry, Xion." Ventus said. 

"It's fine. It's probably changed a lot since you two lived here, too." 

"Not really. I passed by Sora's house yesterday, didn't look at it that much, but besides replacing the tree you two burned down, it hasn't changed a bit." 

"The tree they _what?_ " Xion asked, having never heard that story before. A smug smile made its way to Ventus' face. 

"He never told you that one?" 

"Ven, don't you dare-!" 

* * *

The explanation of how Sora and Roxas had managed to burn an entire tree down quickly turned into a playfight between the twins, ending up in Xion wrestling them both to the ground. After spitting out apologies to each other under the pressure of Xion's hands, the three of them finally sat down to have a proper meal. 

In front of the TV, like the overgrown teenagers they were. 

"Where's dad, by the way?" Ventus asked, mouth full of food. 

"He's out with old colleagues," Was the answer he earned from Roxas, while Xion hopped through the channels to find something to watch while the three ate. 

"He still has those?" 

"Wh- He's only fifty-two, of course he still has old colleagues." 

"No, I meant, since they were involved in the fight against..." 

"Oh. Yeah, I think they're technically all veterans now, but some of them still work with the Council. No clue why they'd do that, though." 

"I guess since Xehanort's dead, dad feels like it's safe to hang out with them again. Makes sense." 

Family conversations always went quiet whenever Xehanort or Eraqus' old job were mentioned. Ventus thought it was logical, since there was rarely anything to talk about when it came to these things. 

Once their meal was gone, Xion and Ventus handed their dishes to Roxas, who went to clean them. It was about 1:30 pm, which meant that they'd have to leave soon. 

"Sora said he'd be at the main street around two, right?" Ventus asked. 

"Yeah," Roxas replied. "He said that's when he leaves his summer job. I think he works at a restaurant?" 

"A restaurant? We're talking about the same Sora who broke plates every three days?" 

"Yeah. A place called Le Grand... something. Can't remember what it was." 

"Did Sora really break plates that often?" Xion wondered. 

"Yep," Roxas confirmed. "Either he'd drop them or he'd take them and suddenly they'd have cracks all over. Still not sure how that happened, but at some point it became trademark Sora to break plates." 

"And now he works at a restaurant... He probably pays back more plates than he gets paid," Ventus snickered. 

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them left the house locked, the key tucked in Xion's pockets as the small group headed towards the main street where they would wait for Sora. They chatted happily on the way, Ventus talking more about the work he had done in the morning as Xion and Roxas commented. 

"And then Merlin just kind of... Appeared in the middle of the shop. Naminé said his mother was an elder demon, so that's how he got magic..." 

"So your boss is a cambion? That's so cool!" Xion remarked. "There's so many more different people here than back h- back in our previous home..." 

"Yeah. And I'm sure there's plenty we haven't seen yet." Roxas added. 

"Oh yeah! Naminé also told me there's a pixie lake somewhere in a park, in the hidden streets. She said I'll have to barter with them for ingredients for the shop at some point. I'm... not looking forward to that." Ventus admitted. 

"Isn't bartering with pixies supposed to be dangerous?" Xion wondered. 

"Those in the city have an agreement with the locals, apparently. No harming anyone or asking for anything too... extra, and in exchange they get to live in the city's parks without needing to do any maintenance work." 

"I don't even want to know how they convinced _pixies_ to live in the middle of a city..." Was Roxas' response. 

The conversation went on while they made their way to the main street, eventually slipping between two houses into the hidden ways. 

"Well, looks like we're here early." Ventus noticed, looking at the clocktower above the city hall, one that could be seen throughout most of the city. "Ten minutes. Guess we'll wait here." 

Their conversation picked back up, veering from Ven's new job to Xion's studies, as well as Sora's summer job. 

"Hey guys! Hope you didn't wait too long!" Sora called, scampering towards them. 

"Hey Sora," Roxas responded, Ven and Xion echoing him. "How'd work go?" 

"Just fine!" The younger boy grinned. "Didn't even get scolded by Little Chef today!" 

"Little Chef?" Xion was the one to ask. 

"Yeah! He's the chef in the restaurant I work at. Makes great food! You should try it someday." 

Xion's mouth watered at the prospect of food, while the twins felt a bit sick at the idea of eating again right after lunch. 

"We'll consider it," Ven answered for them. 

"Anyway!" Sora continued cheerfully. "How are you three?" He asked with a bright smile. 

Ventus thought it was really cute. 

"We're fine, thank you, Sora," Xion answered with a small smile of their own. 

"I'm glad to hear it! Let's get going, I have a city to show you!" Sora responded in a cheerful tone, then took off at a slow pace, letting the three follow him. "So, I know you've already been here, but I'll tell you about this place anyway. This is the main street! Most important shops are here, it crosses through a good third of the hidden town and branches off just about anywhere, including three exits towards normal streets, the one you just came from, one next to the town hall and the other about halfway through the street." He started, waving towards the general directions of the places he talked about. 

"Um... The magical creature registration office is behind the town hall, right?" Xion asked shyly. 

"Yeah! The front of the town hall is the one for normal people, but the door from the hidden street is the one for Magical Communities. It's hard to miss!" 

"Could you... Show us where it is, when we get there?" They requested. 

"Of course! I'm here to show you around, after all." Sora smiled brightly, turning towards the other three and walking backwards for a few steps. He then looked to the side and gestured towards a building. "That potion shop over there is Kairi's grandma's! She's super nice, and if you tell her you know Kairi she'll probably try to give you free stuff. Next, on the other side," He pointed in said direction. "Is my brother's flower shop! He's always grumpy, but he definitely knows his stuff." 

"Grumpy's not the word I would've used..." Roxas muttered, referring to how Vanitas had behaved the other day. 

"Aww, he's nice, I swear," Sora had apparently not lost his puppy eyes in ten years. "And the flowers are really cool! Some will bite you if you get angry, others gossip behind your back, there's even one that makes ice cubes!" 

"A flower that makes ice cubes?" Xion questioned. 

"Yeah! He gave mum – our shared mum," Sora clarified "-one early in the summer. It was really useful, but I forgot to water it one day and then it died. They were both a bit mad about it..." He looked embarrassed. "But anyway! Next is a really cool joke shop – It's also where Pence works!" The last part of his sentence was more aimed towards Roxas, who immediately perked up. 

* * *

Roxas had been happy to introduce Xion to his friend Pence, and the two immediately got along. He had then planned another meet-up with Pence, as well as their shared friends Hayner and Olette, before heading off with Sora once more to continue their visit of the town. 

"Glad to see you're finding everyone again, Roxas," Sora noted with a wide grin. "Haven't seen Pence that happy to see someone in a while!" 

"Honestly? I missed him, and Hayner and Olette too. Ten years is too long." 

"Yeah, everyone was sad when you guys moved out. I know you had good reasons, but you know..." 

Everyone looked a bit somber at that, purposefully avoiding the topic. 

Neither Roxas nor Ventus were quite over what had happened, even ten years later. 

"On another topic, though, I'm sure my mums would be happy to see you two again! You should see H-mum, she's changed so much since then!" Sora, cheerful as ever, changed the topic before anyone could let their thoughts spiral down. 

Of both Sora's mothers, Roxas and Ventus had only really ever met the one Sora fondly nicknamed 'H-mum,' though neither of them had ever learned what 'H-mum' and 'S-mum' stood for as they didn't know either of their names. They had crossed paths with 'S-mum' on very few occasions, and those had been rare. 

"Aren't your mums busy, with school picking back up soon? Isn't one of them a teacher?" 

"Yeah, but I'm sure she can spare some time to see you two! It's been so long, she'll be so happy!" 

Xion looked uncomfortable at the prospect of meeting more people. 

"Maybe another day," Roxas was the one to say. "For now, the city, okay?" 

"Alright! Next's the dreamweavers' workshop..." 

* * *

It took the four of them most of the afternoon to see the town, Sora showing them shop after shop. He had also taken the time to show the registration office Xion had requested, as well as the directions towards which Kairi lived, just in case, and they had passed by the street where Ventus' workplace was. 

"And I think that's all of it!" Sora finally announced, once they reached the end of an alley that branched off the main street. "Anything else you guys wanted to see in the hidden streets?" 

Xion and Ventus shook their heads, while Roxas answered a simple "Nope." 

"Well, that's good, because it's getting late and I need to get home," Sora said, looking towards the clocktower. "Want me to walk you guys back to yours before that?" 

"No, we should be fine. Thanks, Sora," Ventus was the one to respond this time. 

"'kay! Well, call me or drop me a few texts when you want to hang out again, yeah? Oh, and tell me when you're free to come by my home!" 

"Will do." Roxas gave a short answer. "Thanks for showing us around, Sora." 

"No problem! See you guys!" He said with a wave, before going his own way. 

"It was nice to spend some time with him," Xion spoke softly once he was gone. 

"Mhm. He's still as chatty as he was back then..." Roxas was almost complaining. "Well, let's go home. I gotta make dinner today." 

The other two agreed, and the trio slowly walked through the street, taking in the sights of the town in the dimming sunlight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoy writing siblings banter, even though I'm always worried about it being awkward. I mean, this is kind of how I interact with my own siblings...


	4. Trained Hand, Fearful Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On his second day of work, Ventus learns more about the people he will have to get along with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure I'm happy about this chapter? But I've been told it's okay? So here, I guess?
> 
> TW: Needles

Tuesday began for Ventus as every workday from now on would: Birds, breakfast, and then getting to work.

He arrived half an hour early once more, waiting for Naminé. It didn't take long – Two minutes later, she was there and opening the door for him.

"Come on, I'll show you the rest of this place. First, Merlin's office!" She said, guiding him towards where Merlin had disappeared the previous day.

The room was half-lit, books all over the place, some filled with colourful bookmarks, others with dog-eared pages which made Ventus cringe at the mistreatment.

A bird's perch was suspended in a corner of the room, obviously Archimedes' when he stayed in Merlin's office. Another work desk, similar to theirs but bigger, and just as messy as the rest of the room. 

The room was smaller than their own, too, but that may have been because it was just Merlin's and nothing besides books was stored here.

"That's all of Merlin's office. Oh, you can borrow all of those books for free, too, but a lot of them are in other languages. And please, tell Archimedes when you borrow one, he's the one keeping track." Naminé explained with a smile. "Now, onto the last room in this place..."

She stepped back out of Merlin's office and opened another door to the right. In the middle of the room was a somewhat comfy looking table, and what Ventus recognized as a tattoo machine, needle and all.

"This is where we work when clients need their commissions tattooed. For some requests, we send them to an actual tattoo artist, but some more specific works, such as werewolf suppressants, require it to be done directly by a rune witch."  Naminé showed him around the room, the different types of inks that, unlike all the others they used, were purchased from specific people whose job was to make such products. 

"Isa, a regular client, will be coming later this morning to get his suppressants renewed. You won't be doing this yourself anytime soon, but I'd like you to be here when I draw them anyway, at least to let you see how it all works. He's fine with it, I already asked," she confirmed before he could ask. "Oh! I'll also have to hop by the flower shop afterwards. We're running out of yellow pigment, and that one we get from flowers!"

"The flower shop?" Ventus wondered out loud.

"Yeah, Vanitas' shop. He takes really good care of his flowers, so we asked him to be our provider for all we need from them. He's been dealing with Merlin for longer than I have," she smiled. "Do you know where his shop is? Actually, you should probably come with me anyway, so he knows you work for Merlin."

"Uh- alright..." 

"We still have a good fifteen minutes before Merlin gets here," she continued. "Did you have any questions about your work or anything else?"

"Do you often need to go out and get things for the shop yourself?" He asked, curious.

Naminé smiled wryly.

"Not... too often. I don't do crowds well," she admitted. "If it's a Sunday, I don't leave the shop at all until evening."

"Aren't there more people out in the evening?" 

"There's a bit of an empty hour right before seven," was her explanation. "That's around the time I go home. I normally stop at six, but there's just too many people then..."

"That makes sense," Ventus answered. 

"Anyway..."  Naminé started. "If you don't have any other questions, let's wait for Merlin and Archi."

* * *

A few hours of work later, Ventus found himself along with Naminé near the workshop's door, waiting for the werewolf Naminé had mentioned earlier. 

"Isa's a regular client," she explained once more. "He comes every two months to get his suppressants refreshed, and it's been like that for about three years. He first showed up a little bit after I first started here, so I've been the one drawing his suppressants every time."

"That's a pretty long time..." Ventus thought out loud.

"I suppose. In any case, he trusts me to draw the runes, and I believe he'll also trust you once it's your turn, since you work here."

As she finished her sentence, the door opened, and in walked a man with blue hair and bright green eyes. 

"Good morning, Isa!"  Naminé called out.

"Hello,  Naminé ," he responded. His eyes then flicked to Ventus. 

"That's Ventus, Merlin's new assistant," She explained once she noticed Isa's expression, just as Ventus started scratching at the back of his neck. "He's the one who'll be watching today, so he can also draw the runes for you at some point."

Isa simply nodded and followed  Naminé when she headed to the other room, closely followed by a curious Ventus.

The blue-haired man sat down on the comfy table in the middle as  Naminé brought close a taller table on wheels and set to preparing the tattoo machine. In the meantime, Isa set his forearm on the higher support, rolling up his sleeve and exposing the inside of his arm.

"Come closer to watch, Ven," Naminé called, beckoning him near the table she would work at. "You ready, Isa?" She asked, concern in her voice.

"Get it done with," he answered somewhat curtly.

With no more words to be spoken, Ventus watched as  Naminé set to work. She slowly, slowly traced sharp lines on Isa's arm, a purplish-brown colour setting in his skin to form the runes under her needle. Even as she felt Ventus and Isa's attentive eyes set on her hands, she didn't flinch or shake, simply doing her work. 

Ventus had been told this would take the better part of an hour, and as he watched  Naminé write he understood why. She had quite the long line of  runescript to scribble, and went so slowly to avoid any dot out of line. Rune witchcraft was a precise art, but it truly grew demanding when it came to drawing it under the skin.

The language that was used for werewolf suppressant scripts  was old, complicated and absurdly messy, and as Ventus watched  Naminé trace yet another perfect half-circle, he wondered if he'd ever have her patience. Yet she looked passionate about it, clearly loving the work she had made hers, not looking bored for even one second.

Fifty minutes felt as though they passed in a blink as the script was written on Isa's arm. One moment, Ventus looked at the clock and it was just past ten, and then he blinked and it was almost eleven.

"There, all done,"  Naminé confirmed, applying film on the skin. Isa hadn't budged once, probably used to it after three years. "You'll be able to remove the film in about two hours."

"Thank you," Isa mumbled more than spoke, moving his arm a little bit and flexing his hand.

"You're welcome," She replied. "Remember to ask Archi for your next appointment, alright?"

Isa nodded, then got up and left. 

"Uh... Did he pay for that beforehand?" Ventus asked himself more than  Naminé , but she replied nonetheless.

"Werewolf suppressants are free." She explained. "Same for empath suppressants."

"Huh? As in  they count as healthcare, or...?"

"No, we draw them for free here. You and I get paid the same either way, and neither of us is in dire need of money. Merlin and I agreed that... That that kind of thing, that people need to live, shouldn't... Shouldn't cost anything." Naminé spoke quietly. "It'd be cruel, to make them pay for something they need."

Ventus agreed almost bitterly. 

"Well, I'll go tidy up my desk and get ready to go to Vanitas' shop," She spoke up again while stretching her hands and arms. "You should probably do the same. I don't think we have any commissions left this morning, so once we're back with the pigments you'll probably be free to go."

Five minutes later, desks tidied and a jacket on for  Naminé , the two headed out towards the main street. It was calm, few people walking outside around eleven, although  Naminé still seemed a lot more uptight than she did back inside the workshop, her shoulders pulled up and warily looking around every few seconds.

Ventus knew better than to ask. Anxiety was not foreign to him.

The two quickly made their way to the main street,  Naminé looking even more worried once they stepped into it, as more crowds appeared around them.

"You okay, Naminé...?" Ventus asked shyly, now concerned about her.

"I'm fine." She spoke quickly. "Let's just get to the flower shop. Please."

They hurried down the street, passing by shops Ventus could now recognize.  Naminé didn't even glance at them, eyes cast forward looking for the door to the shop.

They walked fast until finally,  _ finally _ , they reached the door to the flower shop.  Naminé rushed inside, barely keeping the door open for Ventus who followed suit.

As soon as the door shut,  Naminé caught her breath, taking a few moments before speaking loudly.

"Vanitas! It's me!"

There were various shuffling sounds rumbling through the door behind the counter of the shop before it opened, Vanitas once more appearing from it. He cast one glance towards  Naminé , before looking towards Ventus.

"Oh. A friend of Sora's."

Naminé looked surprised for half a second, looked towards Ventus, then Vanitas, and back to Ventus.

"You know Sora?" She asked curiously.

"Kind of?" Was Ventus' response.  Naminé shook her head with a half-smile, then turned towards Vanitas once more.

"We need yellow pigments," She explained. "We're almost out."

Vanitas grunted in acknowledgement, which Ventus surprisingly identified as actually being a mumbled 'Gotcha,' before once more heading to the back of the shop.

"I didn't know you knew Sora,"  Naminé started while they waited for Vanitas to return.

"It didn't come up," he admitted in return. "How do you know him?"

"He knows my sister. Kairi," she explained. 

"You're Kairi's sister?"

"I am." She answered with a smile. "I don't know Sora too well, but I know he's a great friend to my sister."

"Mhm, I don't doubt that. He's a great friend to my brother, Roxas, too. Or at least, he was back then..."

"Back then?"

"Yeah. We moved out of town ten years ago. We've been back for a few days, so..."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear you had to move ten years ago. Plenty of people did..." Naminé mused out loud.

"It's fine, it's old now."

The two waited in silence now, listening to the sounds from behind the door.  Naminé approached the counter, pulling out the  munnies Merlin had given her to pay for the pigments and idly counting them.

A few seconds later, the door opened once more to Vanitas, with two bags of pigments in his hands and another smaller one on the side.

"There." He practically mumbled, putting the bags down on the counter.

"Oh! You also added blue. Thank you, I guess we would've run out soon..."  Naminé noticed. "How much do I owe you?"

As the two talked money, Ventus took advantage of not being on the other side of the shop this time to detail Vanitas' appearance more. Hair pulled in messy, black spikes, piercing gold eyes that, although they did not give the same impression of staring into your soul as Naminé's, still made Ventus want to take a few steps back. A long-sleeved black shirt, covering all the way to the wrist, hands also covered by green gardening gloves, one hand's fingers capped by little things that almost looked like claws. A gardening apron, stuffed with tools and covered in dirt stains. 

Now that Ventus paid more attention, he could see where the similarities between him and Sora started, and where they ended.

Besides the colour, their hair was practically the same. A mess of spikes, really, that neither of them even tried to tame. Not that Ventus could say much about that. Even the general shape of their faces was the same, although Vanitas' was sharper, brows slightly furrowed all the time and lips pulled in a tight frown. 

All in all, if Ventus had to describe Vanitas, he wouldn't say he is cute like Sora.

He would say he definitely looks good, though.

"Oh, by the way,"  Naminé cut through his thoughts. "I don't know if you've already met properly, but this is Ventus. He's Merlin's new assistant."

"We've met. Sora brought his friends along last time." Vanitas spoke. "I guess that means I'll have to deal with you too..." He added with a sigh.

Whether it was intended or not, it certainly came across badly, as Ventus' brows furrowed just a little bit and his neutral expression dropped. "Nice to meet you properly too."

Vanitas suddenly looked even more disinterested. "Well, if you got what you need..." He trailed off, looking towards the door to the back of the shop once more. 

"We do have what we need. Thank you, Vanitas. See you next time,"  Naminé said politely, before heading towards the exit, Ventus right on her heels. 

As soon as they set foot outside,  Naminé looked unsettled once more, preventing Ventus from asking what exactly was Vanitas' problem. They made their way back to the rune workshop quickly,  Naminé's pace unrelenting and her shoulders pulled up high.

As soon as the door closed behind them,  Naminé let out a heavy breath. "I'm sorry, did you want to ask me something?" She asked, turning towards him. 

"No, it's fine. I'll... handle the pigments," He said, taking the bags from her hands. "Yellow and blue, right?"

"T-That's right."  Naminé stuttered. "I'm sorry, I really don't deal well with..."

"Don't be sorry," Ventus reassured. "Just... get some rest or whatever you need? We don't have any work left this morning."

"T-Thank you. Just... make sure you don't mix up the pigments. I'll... stay at my desk for a while."

Ventus sent one more concerned glance  Naminé's way, before heading towards the shelves to put away the pigments. They had paid surprisingly little for the quality of what he had worked with so far, and so he was careful not to mix up anything. 

Huh, it seemed Vanitas hadn't been wrong to give them blue as well. They were missing a lot of that.

Once everything was put away, he turned towards Naminé.

"Do you think Merlin will mind if I leave now?"

"No, you should be fine..."  Naminé responded softly. "I'll... wait for the lunch rush to end before going home. Thank you for accompanying me today, Ventus." She smiled, a weak, small thing that barely reached her eyes.

"You're welcome?" He found himself asking, not quite understanding why she was thanking him. "I mean, I have to learn..."

And maybe if he went to the shops by himself from now on,  Naminé wouldn't have to be so unsettled again.

* * *

Ventus spent his Tuesday afternoon lazing around in bed. Xion was on cooking duty today, and he didn't have anything planned, so he made company with one of the books he bought and the comfort of his blankets. 

He was about halfway through his book when his phone buzzed in one of his pockets. Checking it, he noticed he received a message from a number he hadn't registered.

_ 'y u didn’t tell me u work w/ Naminé? :O' _

Confused, Ventus typed his response.

_ 'I'm sorry, who is this?' _

_ 'sora' _

Oh. 

_ 'Well, I didn't know you knew her, or that she is Kairi's sister' _

_ 'that makes sense.  _ _ roxas _ _ gave me ur number btw' _

Well, he'd have to complain about it then. Ventus didn't appreciate his number being given away without asking first.

Just as he pocketed it, his phone buzzed once more. With an irritated sigh, Ventus checked it once more.

_ 'wuu2 tmrw btw,  _ _ hmom _ _ wants to see u 3 c:' _

_ 'I have work in the morning.'  _ He responded to the text simply, attempting to go back to his book.

_ 'cool, can u 3 come home around 2:30?' _

_ 'Ask Roxas and Xion.'  _ He swore he'd stop responding now, so he would be able to keep reading.

About five minutes later, the phone buzzed yet again, and Ventus had to keep himself from tossing it across the room. He hated,  _ hated  _ being interrupted while reading.

_ 'They said ok, see u tmrw o/' _

Ventus sighed once more, putting the phone down on his bed and pointedly not looking at it anymore. He tried to pick his book back up, but found his eyes getting stuck on the same line over and over again, unable to focus enough to progress beyond that.

With another frustrated sigh, he shoved a bookmark in between the pages and returned the book to its rightful place on the shelf, then buried his face in the pillows in boredom. If he couldn't get himself to read, what exactly would he do?

He thought back to his morning. How fascinating it had been to watch  Naminé work on writing runes directly under someone's skin. How unmoved Isa had been while the needle worked on his arm.

How much the very same  Naminé had been shaken by just walking outside. How used she seemed to be to Vanitas' aloofness. How Vanitas had known they were running low on blue pigment without either of them saying anything. 

Perhaps he paid more attention than he seemed to. 

Returning to the city was strange. Back in the village they had lived in, up until a few days ago, everything was... quiet. There were few people their age. The magical community was so much smaller, and in its majority fully human. 

And then in the span of a few days, he met a Cambion born from an elder demon, a bunch of different witches and a talking owl. 

And now someone who probably knew half the city had his number, too.

But... 

Being in the city meant he could sign up for uni. It meant he could meet more people with a passion for runes, like  Naminé . It meant he could find other bookworms, too.

Even if it meant meeting strange people, it meant diversifying the people he knew, and he thought that perhaps that was not a bad thing. 

He loved Terra and Aqua from the bottom of his heart, really, but after having only them for years, he almost found himself wanting more.


	5. A Good Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ventus, Roxas and Xion meet Sora's mum.
> 
> Twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next one might take a while, my uni schedule has been getting screech-worthy
> 
> enjoy the chapter owo

Wednesday morning went by normally, if not a little bit boringly. Nothing special happened at work, Ventus and  Naminé completing commissions at a normal pace. Ventus still had to ask  Naminé to show him where things were sometimes, which she did with a simple smile.

Neither of them talked about how awful it had been for her to go out around people the previous day, instead sticking to a quiet work routine.

Once 12:30 rang, Ventus finished up what he had been working on and headed home. He was, admittedly, not looking forward to the afternoon, three days of social interactions in a row being a little bit too much for him, but he supposed he would have to deal with that less and less as time passed. 

Lunch also went by quietly, no interesting conversation sprouting among the four of them. Roxas briefly mentioned that they would go to Sora's later on.  Eraqus had no comment to make on that, instead piling the dishes to wash them later. 

Time passed quickly, and soon Roxas, Ventus and an anxious Xion found themselves at Sora's door, ringing the bell and waiting for the ever-excited boy to come open the door.

"Hey guys!" Said Sora greeted cheerfully when he wrenched the door open, clearly happy to see all of them.

"Hey Sora," was the duo of responses he earned while Xion tried to hide behind Roxas again.

"Come on in!" He beckoned them inside, opening the door wide. Roxas was the first to step inside, Xion clutching at his arm, Ventus last.

"Ventus, Roxas! It's been so long," One of Sora's mums greeted, from her seat at the table. She had changed some compared to what the two remembered – Her voice was at a higher pitch, her brown hair so much longer, but her bright cinnamon eyes were unmistakable. Her eyes then turned to the fourth person in the room. "And you must be Xion! It's nice to meet you." She added with a wide smile.

"H-hi!" Xion spluttered, hiding even further behind Roxas.

"Hello, Mrs. Hoshi," Roxas spoke, echoed by his brother. 

"Oh, you two have grown up so much! I can't believe it's been ten years." She fawned over them, before asking, embarrassed, "Um... Which one of you is which?" 

Ventus chuckled awkwardly. "I'm Ven," he said, pointing to himself. 

"Thank you," Mrs. Hoshi answered. "How has life been treating you two, and Eraqus? You three moved quite far away, coming back to the city can't be easy..."

"Dad's been fine," Roxas started. "He misses work, but y'know..."

"Has he not recovered well? Oh..." She seemed almost sad. "I'm sad to hear it. Truly, your mother's death must have been hard on all of you..."

Veering away from a sad topic, Sora immediately took over the conversation. "Hey, I was curious, where'd you two  meet Xion?"

"At school." Xion was the one to respond. "We've been in the same one since they moved..."

And with an almost proud grin, Roxas added: "And we've been dating for about five years."

Xion blushed a bright red at that, as their boyfriend took their hand in his own. 

Mrs. Hoshi fawned over how cute the two of them were, while Sora grinned wide. 

"Told you  you wouldn't end up with a girl," He teased, enjoying how Roxas blushed as well.

"You've all graduated high school, right? What are you planning on doing now?" Sora's mother asked.

"I'm studying to become a rune witch," Ventus spoke up first. "I'll be enrolling in advanced rune courses this year, and working half-time as well."

"Oh, just like Naminé!"

"Yeah, I work with her in Merlin's workshop," He elaborated, scratching at the back of his neck again.

"She's such a sweet girl," Mrs. Hoshi spoke fondly. "Be good to her, yes? She deserves kindness."

"I will!" Ventus squeaked.

"How about you two, then?" She then asked, turning her attention to Roxas and Xion. "Will you be enrolling in Uni as well?"

Roxas looked down to the floor and Xion to the side, both evading her gaze.

"… Ah, I see. That's alright, kiddos, you don't need to know what you want to do at your age! You still have your whole life before you."

"… Yeah. We know." Roxas rasped.

"Oh, by the way, mom," Sora began, a joyous bundle of energy as always, "When'd S-mom say she'd be home?"

"She didn't say. I believe she wanted to spend more time with Vanitas, since he's started distancing himself from her again..."

"I told him she wouldn't want him to get away," Sora grumbled. "She's not  gonna let it happen again."

"Oh, trust me, I know that, but sometimes I do think she should give him more space..."

"Oh well. I was hoping she'd be home to meet Rox and Ven, and Xion too!"

"It's fine, Sora," Roxas spoke. "Maybe we can meet her another day?"

"But you guys came all this waaaaay..." Sora whined.

"It's a ten minutes walk, Sora." Ventus deadpanned.

"Yeah, you're right..." He pouted. "Still, I'm sure she would've been happy to see you too."

"Well, maybe she'll be home before your friends leave," Mrs. Hoshi pointed out. "Anyway!" She clapped her hands together, her usual way of announcing a change of subject. "How was life out of town, you three? I've always lived here, so I have to admit I'm curious..."

* * *

"And after that, I moved in Mr. Eraqus' house with Roxas and Ven," Xion finished their explanation. The conversation with Mrs. Hoshi had lasted a little bit less than two hours, her cheerfully asking questions that Roxas, Ventus and Xion answered the best they could. 

"Oh, it must've been so scary for you, risking homelessness at 18, I don't even want to imagine..."

"It was... what I expected to happen," Xion stammered quietly, "I was only able to stay because Roxas and Mr. Eraqus were really kind to me."

"I'm truly glad. I do hope living with these three overgrown boys doesn't get tiring for you, though."

"N-no, they're all fine! I wouldn't call Mr.  Eraqus an overgrown boy, either..."

Mrs. Hoshi smiled fondly.

"Then he must have changed a lot since the old days. We went to school together, you see? He was always late," She laughed. "And a few times, he was caught sleeping through class! To this day, I still wonder how he graduated..."

Her  expression turned sour, along with Ventus' and Roxas'.

"Eraqus... I suppose he never quite got over your mother's death, has he?" She asked the two of them.

"He's... doing better, nowadays," Roxas spoke quietly. "But I don't think he'll ever really be over it."

"I would've guessed so," Mrs. Hoshi murmured. "I hope that one day, all these terrible events will be left behind. Both for your father and for your sake."

"Yeah, me too..." Was the younger twin's mumbled response.

Ventus simply looked away.

"Oh, but enough of these dreary things! We've been talking for so long, are you three hungry?"

Xion immediately lit up, eyes wide and bright at the prospect of food, while Roxas chuckled looking at them. 

"I'll take that as a yes," Mrs. Hoshi laughed. "Good thing Sora made cookies this morning!"

"Muuum, I wanted to keep them for Rikuuuu," He complained.

"I'm sure you can spare some for Xion," She responded. "Look at them, they're starving!"

Sora turned to Xion to find puppy eyes directed at him, in a perfect imitation of his own.

"Hey! Puppy eyes is cheating!" He whined, but he was already on the way to get the cookies from the kitchen.

"I don't think  _ you  _ get to complain about puppy eyes, Sora," Roxas remarked.

" Awww , but I don't even use them that much!" 

"We've only been back for a few days and you already used them to try to convince me that your brother is nice."

"And he is! I promise he is!"

"That's not the point! Puppy eyes are a deadly weapon and you shouldn't be allowed to use them."

"But- But-!" And Sora brought his hands to his face, his eyes softening into said deadly weapon.

"Stop that! Xion already uses them too often!" 

Mrs. Hoshi and Ventus laughed on the side as Xion joined in with the puppy eyes, while Roxas muttered a complaint about something that sounded like 'bullying'.

A few minutes later found the five of them sitting around the table, Xion and Sora eagerly devouring the cookies after having set a few aside for Riku.

" Shora , those cookies are good!" Xion complimented, grabbing another one from the plate as they finished chewing the previous one.

"I'm glad you like them!" He answered with a bright, adorable smile. 

"Do you think you could give me the recipe? I  wanna try making them too!"

"Sure thing! You're the one who cooks at home, Xion?"

"That's all of us, actually," Roxas answered in their stead. "We take turns. Well, except Ven, when Uni picks up."

"That'll give you more chances to cook," Xion responded to that, stuffing another cookie in their mouth. "I prefer your cooking."

"Hey, Ven's cooking isn't bad!" The younger twin almost looked offended, although all of them knew that was more playful than actual offence.

"Yeah, but he's always undercooking or overcooking food."

"I'm right here..." Ventus almost looked stung.

Mrs. Hoshi and Sora looked amused by the banter between the twins and Xion, watching as the two brothers turned the tide of the conversation from Ventus' burnt food to  one time Xion had apparently almost burned down the kitchen.

"Wasn't my fault there  was still oil on the burner! You're the one who didn't clean it up properly, Rox!" They complained, pointing an accusing finger at their partner.

"You poured water on an oil fire, Xion," Ventus deadpanned.

"I was panicking!" 

"I did the same thing once!" Sora intervened. "Except it wasn't here, it was at the restaurant! Little Chef was kinda mad..."

"He was scared, Sora," His mother explained. "You  _ did  _ almost burn down his restaurant and burn your hand trying to stop it."

"True..."

"Oh yeah, Sora," Roxas asked. "Why'd you pick a job at a restaurant? You're the best at breaking plates."

"I'm not really the one handling the plates? I work in the kitchen, but I mean- Oh wait, I'm not supposed to tell."

"Kitchen secrets?" Xion asked curiously.

"Kitchen secrets!" He confirmed. "You'll definitely have to come to the restaurant at least once, though. I can even get you a discount!"

"Does it... have any meat-free options?" Ventus asked almost shyly.

"Yeah!" Sora answered with his usual big smile. "Little Chef doesn't eat meat either, so he's thought about that a lot.  There's tons of choices!"

Sora and Ventus engaged in an enthusiastic (Mostly on Sora's side) conversation about the different meals the restaurant offered, Mrs. Hoshi engaged her own conversation with Roxas and Xion.

"So, do the two of you have any projects for the coming school year? If you're looking for odd jobs, I could give you a hand..."

Xion immediately looked away, interrupting their cookie feast.

"Uh, thank you Mrs. Hoshi," Roxas began upon seeing his partner's expression, "I'll ask if I need help finding anything. Xion... already has their hands full."

"… I see," she answered with a kind smile. "Do remember to ask, alright? And not just for help finding a job. I'm sure Sora would be more than happy to help with anything as well."

"...Thanks," Xion muttered, their voice suddenly a little hoarse.

"Yeah, we'll keep it in mind," Roxas answered out of politeness.

"…And I think that's all of them!" Sora finished his sentence, cheerful as ever. "Little Chef has the  _ best  _ ideas. He can't really cook by himself, though, so that's why I'm working there!"

"Sounds nice, Sora. I'll definitely check it out someday," Ventus responded, apparently enjoying the food  conversation . 

"Good! Chef's always happy to see new faces. Especially when they're friends!" 

Ventus perked up a little bit at that. Friends? Sora saw him as a friend too?

Not just Roxas?

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a door opening, a clear, womanly voice resounding with a joyous "I'm home!"

"Hey  ma !" Sora immediately called out, rushing to his other mother.

As she walked in, Ventus could definitely see the resemblance between her and her sons. Long, black hair that Vanitas had inherited, but the same bright blue eyes as Sora. 

However ... There were a few more things that had Ventus blinking the moment he noticed them, suddenly unsure if his eyes were reliable.

A long, black tail ending in a spike curled around her leg, one horn on the right side of her forehead and the stump of a broken one on the other, and teeth that looked way too sharp when she smiled upon seeing them.

"Roxas! Ventus! Oh, it's been so long since I've seen you two. Has Sora been a good host? Oh, and you must be Xion! Sora's talked about you a lot!"

Oh. He suddenly realized what H-mum and S-mum stood for.

"Uh, hello, Mrs. Hoshi-" Roxas greeted, Ventus and Xion quietly echoing him.

Seemed he wasn't the only one who was surprised, although none of the Hoshi family seemed to realize they hadn't known.

"Oh, please, just call me Ciela! Mrs. Hoshi is my wife," Sora's S-mum responded, her tone in perpetual sing-songs.

The three didn't quite know what to answer, but were saved by Sora's next inquiry.

"How was Vanitas, ma? Grumpy as usual?"

"Oh, he was even worse! I swear, if I didn't know  better, I'd think he didn't want to see me."

Ventus had to bite back the response that Vanitas didn't seem like he wanted to see  _ anyone  _ at all, both times he had met him.

"Aww, I'm sure he was happy to see you, ma."

"I just wish he was a little bit more affectionate, you know? A bit more like you. For example, with you I can do this!" She said, pulling Sora into a tight hug, the same kind of bone-crushing ones he was known to deliver.

" Ouch ... Ma... Need to breathe..." Sora gasped, trying to escape his S-mom's embrace.

"Oh, sorry!" She apologized, immediately letting go. She then turned to the three guests. "I don't suppose you want a hug as well?"

"Uh... No thanks," Roxas responded.

"I'll pass, thank you," was Xion's quieter answer, while Ventus merely scratched at the back of his neck.

"Oh, you two have changed so much," Ciela addressed Roxas and Ventus. "Still burning trees, Roxas?"

"Hey! That was once! And Sora lit the match!"

* * *

The six of them chatted for about half an hour more, none of them mentioning the blatant fact that  _ holy shit Sora's S-mom is a succubus,  _ Ventus, Roxas and Xion avoiding it by fear of embarrassment while Sora and his moms simply didn't seem to realize that they hadn't known.

"It's getting pretty late," Xion finally noticed. "Maybe we should go home soon."

"Oh! That's just too bad, I was enjoying this conversation," Ciela complained, reluctantly accepting that they had to leave.

"Can I walk them home, ma, mum?" Sora asked.

His mums looked at each other, then back at him.

"You can, but be back soon, okay? No going anywhere else!" Mrs. Hoshi spoke up, her tone almost scolding.

"Okay! I promise! Wait- You guys don't mind if I walk you back, do you?" Sora confirmed with the three of them.

"It's fine if you want to, Sora," Xion was the one to speak up, a lot more at ease since the conversation had started.

"Cool! There's something I wanted to talk to you guys about."

Soon, the four of them were outside, walking silently in the streets.

" Sooooo ... You guys didn't know, right?" Sora asked suddenly, earning three pairs of eyes pointed his way. "Looks like I forgot to tell you that!" He smiled brightly, but he looked almost  embarrassed , folding his arms behind his head. 

"That means you're a cambion, right, Sora?" Xion asked, a curious light in their eyes.

"Yep! Me and Van are both half  incubus . I even have a tail! It's hidden under my shirt, in case I  wanna go out in the normal streets. And look!" He said, opening his mouth wide and pointing at his teeth. "I  haf fangsh!" He tried to speak like that.

"Huh.  So you do." Roxas deadpanned, only noticing that for the first time.

Sora finally closed his mouth and spoke up again. "Van also has fangs, and he has pointy ears! Ma loves teasing him about it. Oh, and I've been told it makes people find me really cute too..."

"Oh, that's why..." Xion and Ventus spoke at the same time, then looked at each other. Then back at Sora, who giggled.

" Yeahh , I got the short end of the stick there.  I t makes people find Van hot! But we basically have the same face!" He complained.

"What are you complaining about?" Roxas questioned. "Don't you already have Kairi?"

"Wha-? Oh, no, Kairi doesn't like boys! And I don't like her like that anyway. I'm dating Riku!" Sora stated proudly.

"Oh, so I'm not the only one who didn't end up with a girl!"

The two bickered all the way back to the house, Xion occasionally dipping in with a comment or two, an easy smile on their lips. Ventus stayed quiet, instead choosing to look at the scenery in the light of the late afternoon. 

When they were finally home, he went to his room and closed his door, his ability to socialize exhausted for the day. Tomorrow was his day off, so he'd be able to rest...

Or not, considering he needed to sign up for his advanced rune courses for the upcoming school year.

With a sigh, he instead decided to reflect on his day.

The morning had gone by... surprisingly quickly. He may only have been working for three days, but with  Naminé's explanations he was getting used to it fast, some of his tasks already feeling like a well-oiled routine. Talking with Sora and his mothers had ended up somewhat pleasant, too, no matter how tired he currently felt.

Overall, this had been... a good day. Filled with too many people, but a good day nonetheless.

That was the thought that remained at the front as Ventus dozed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still and ever beta'd by the sweetest of friends, who also gives incredible feedback which allowed me to rewrite half of this chapter into something decent.


	6. Meaningless Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Previously;_
> 
> _Xion, Roxas and Ventus met with both of Sora's mothers, learning in the process that Sora, and by extension Vanitas, is a half-incubus cambion._  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It's been a while. Exams and holiday festivities have been taking all my time, but here we are with a new chapter. 
> 
> Once again, thanks to the greatest of friends for beta-reading this chapter. 
> 
> Oh, one thing: If anyone catches me misgendering Xion (using any pronoun that isn't They/Them) please do correct me in the comments, I don't like calling a character by the wrong pronouns.

Falling asleep early meant waking up early, Ventus realized as he checked his phone for time. 4:28 in the morning, he realized once the numbers stopped being so blurry.

With a sigh, he put his phone back down. He was already too awake to go back to sleep, rubbing his eyes and rolling onto his back. 

Dejectedly, he tried to pick one of his books from the shelf to read, but while he was too awake to doze back off, it seemed he wasn't awake enough to read. Putting the book back in its place, he instead settled on going for a walk. He'd stick to the parts of the city Sora had shown them.

Sending a text to his father's silenced phone to inform him of where he was, in case he woke up while Ventus was out, he slipped outside and headed towards the hidden streets. There was barely any light, the street lamps already off, the sunshine just peeking at the horizon, and Ventus found that it was a lot more peaceful than any other time he had been outside.

He slowly walked towards one of the more isolated streets Sora had shown them, idly following the paths until he ended up near one of the parks said boy had indicated in his tour guide of the place.

If he wasn't wrong, this was also...

Yep. There was a pond near the middle of a park, surrounded by a tree and multiple stone circles, on which were perched multiple tiny creatures that gave off a soft glow in the dim light of early morning.

This was the pixie lake  Naminé had  mentioned to him, then.

Ventus approached slowly, not wanting to scare off the playful creatures in what was likely their home. He was still curious about them, knowing that he'd have to barter with them eventually, and as he walked closer, one of the pixies flew towards him with a tilt of the head, as if questioning his presence.

"Hey," he greeted, knowing he wouldn't get an answer. The little pixie, now that he could see it (her?) up close, wore a green dress adapted to her diminutive height, blonde hair pulled in a tight bun and curious blue eyes fixated on him. 

She was, however, clearly keeping him from walking closer to the lake, which he supposed might be disrespectful, so he did not.

"I'm Ventus," he started again. "Uh... Newly employed at Merlin's  Runeworks ? I've been told I'll have to trade with you and your friends for dust...?"

Understanding dawned on the pixie's face, and she nodded almost manically in a wide gesture that swept half of its body. 

Ventus supposed she needed to exaggerate that much for her gestures to be seen by everyone.

"So, uh, what kind of thing do you trade for it?"

The pixie's excessive movement went on, this time she kind of flailed her arms as if drawing in mid-air. She seemed to make the shape of... a moon crescent?

She then gestured as if eating something. Oh!

"You trade pixie dust for pastries?"

The pixie nodded once  more, her tiny hand closed so that she could give him thumbs up.

"Do you... have any preference in pastries?" Ventus asked, attempting to make conversation.

He chatted with the pixie a few more minutes, somehow learning which bakery she preferred, as well as her taste in pastries. He filed away the information in a corner of his brain, making sure he'd remember it when he eventually had to buy things for them.

His conversation, however, was interrupted when someone else walked into the park. It seemed Ventus was not the only one out before 5 in the morning. He turned around to see who could've come to a pixie-infested park at this hour, and met eye to eye with...

Vanitas?

"Oh. Sora's friend." Vanitas deadpanned, looking positively overjoyed at seeing someone else.

"Good morning to you too," Ventus simply responded, returning the cold shoulder.

The other man simply ignored him and went on, walking past the stone circles and directly to the more flowery part of the park, closely followed by the pixie Ventus had been talking to, who seemed to be observing him.

When Vanitas noticed the pixie, he looked up at her, and greeted her in his usual dull tone. "Good morning, Tinker Bell."

The pixie, apparently named Tinker Bell, responded with a wave which he supposed meant hello, before settling on one of the mushrooms growing on the nearby tree. From her perch, she simply watched as Vanitas... 

Watered the flowers? Ventus knew he had his own shop, but he didn't think he was also the one to take care of the city's parks.

"What," Vanitas started, after a minute of Ventus just standing there, "Are you looking at?"

Ventus was a bit taken aback, only just realizing he had been staring. "Sorry," he muttered. "I just didn't know you also took care of the flowers here."

There was a pause, and then: "Only this park," Vanitas explained. "Because of the pixies. The flowers here aren't normal, and letting weeds grow on the pixies' circles would void their contract with the city."

Ventus blinked, surprised he even got an explanation. "The flowers aren't normal?"

Vanitas gave him that bored look again, before waving his hand near what Ventus thought was a normal rose. Immediately, the flower turned away, leaves springing up to hide its petals. "Can't expect flowers to stay 'normal' near pixies."

Curiously, Ventus approached the flowers himself, poking one of them with his finger. The same reaction happened on the one he touched.

"Huh. So... why do you take care of the flowers here anyway?"

"Scribes aren't the only ones who need pixie dust," Vanitas replied curtly.

"Oh, that makes sense."

The almost-awkward silence from before returned, Ventus just standing there as Vanitas worked.

" So what do  _ you  _ need dust for?" Ventus eventually asked, breaking the quiet.

"Some flowers need it to grow."

"…What kind of flowers?" He tried to extend the conversation.

"The kind that sells."

Man, he knew he'd have to at least get along with Vanitas because of work, but did he  _ have _ to be so cold to him? Even just talking was tough, Ventus thought.

Eventually, Vanitas lifted his gaze to him. "Why are you still here?"

"Wh- I was here first!"

"And now you're just standing there."

"Look, if I'm  gonna have to work with you because of Merlin's, I want to at least try to get along," Ventus spoke after a moment.

"What's the point?" Vanitas asked, an eyebrow raised. "You come to my shop to buy pigments, not to make conversation."

And... he had a point. It didn't really matter if he gave the cold shoulder, because Ventus would buy what he needed for work anyway.

With a sigh, he admitted: "I guess you're right... But still. You're not as cold to Naminé!"

"I've known  Naminé for years," the other responded sharply, finally standing up. Now that Ventus was face to face with him instead of behind a counter, he realized Vanitas was... quite a bit taller than him.

Not giving him another look, Vanitas simply brushed off the dirt off his pants and went back towards the tree where Tinker Bell was waiting, catching a small bag thrown by the pixie before leaving. 

Once Vanitas was out of sight, Tinker Bell approached him, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Does he come here often?" He asked, wondering.

In response, the pixie gestured widely again.

"Every... morning? He comes here every morning?" Ventus deciphered.

The pixie nodded.

" So you give him dust in exchange for taking care of the flowers and removing weeds? Isn't that the city's job?"

At that, Tinker Bell spent a moment to think, before making more gestures Ventus didn't quite understand.

"I'm sorry, I don't get what you're saying," he added softly.

Frustrated, the pixie waved her arms even more.

"The city... Does he work for the city? But Sora said he owned his shop."

Once more, the pixie nodded, then gestured a two.

"Two...? Oh, you mean he works for both the city and in his shop?"

Tinker Bell confirmed, visibly happy that her meaning had been conveyed.

"Huh. That sounds tiring..."

In response, the pixie nodded yet again. 

"Well... thank you for talking with me, Tinker Bell. I need to go home now, but next time I'll be sure to come back with pastries," he said with a smile.

The sort-of grin plastered on the pixie's face was all the answer he needed.

* * *

"I'm home," Ventus spoke softly upon pushing the door open, not wanting to wake anyone up. He knew for a fact Xion and Roxas would still be asleep, but his father might be up.

"Welcome home, Ventus."

As expected,  Eraqus was in the kitchen, following his usual routine. The only difference, however, was the small radio on the counter, usually quiet, currently dialled up and emitting the soft noise of an early morning news report.

"… Around a dozen people, ranging from age sixteen to thirty-one, have been successfully freed from a cohort of Xehanort followers yesterday. Their names have not been given yet, but they have been reunited with their families..."

Coffee in hand,  Eraqus sat down at the kitchen table, intently listening to the reporter explaining the events of the previous day. A few moments later, Ventus sat down next to him, listening as well.

"… It appears that all of the rescued people have also been branded. For those who might not know, the brand of  Xehanort is a crossed scar in the shape of an X, usually marked somewhere on the victim's body. A great majority of those who have been branded have been test subjects in one fashion or another, although  Xehanort and his follower's goal in those experiments remains yet unknown to the public. It is not known whether or not the government-"

Eraqus suddenly shut the small radio down, not wanting to hear another word of it. Not that any of the information was new anyway.

"Where have you been?" Ventus' father eventually asked.

"I texted you," Ventus spoke softly. "I went on a walk into town. I couldn't sleep."

There was a moment of silence, and then: "… Have you found anything interesting?"

"Yeah, actually," He felt almost awkward. He so rarely talked to his father alone. "Found the park with pixies that I've heard about. I talked with one, too! And I met Vanitas there, too, I guess."

Eraqus was now looking straight at his son. "Vanitas?"

"Yeah. He's Sora's brother, has a flower shop in the main street. He's not very nice." Only then did Ventus notice that his father's hands were closed in tight fists, his knuckles white. "Dad?" He asked, a tinge of worry in his tone.

"It's nothing. Must be a coincidence."

Ventus looked at his father's face, then back down at the table. "Okay."

Everything was quiet after those words,  Eraqus slowly sipping his coffee while Ventus made his own breakfast. 

"I think I'll go handle my registration stuff for  uni later today," Ventus finally broke the silence. "Sora told me it might take a while, so I want to do it as early as possible."

Eraqus nodded,  acknowledging his son's words. 

"I think it opens at nine." Ventus spoke again. " So I've got..." He checked his phone for time. "Three hours. Then I'll go out again."

Another nod.

Ventus felt even more awkward.

He finished his breakfast quickly, then spoke again, holding his side of a very one-sided conversation. "I'll... be in my room."

A few moments later, the door was closed and Ventus almost felt like breathing a sigh of relief.

* * *

Three hours of drowning himself in his books later, Ventus found himself on the way to the town's student campus. It was on the other side of the town compared to his family's house, through most of the hidden streets, but he found himself not disliking the walk. He could slip through quiet streets, walk through two parks and take the time to look around.

The university itself was on the hidden side of an actual, normal people university. It shared several facilities with the regular side while hiding many doors and hallways from prying eyes.

It took him little time to locate the administrative offices, everything being surprisingly well indicated through written signs and brightly coloured arrows. Once at the offices, it took him a few minutes to notice the door – likely-invisible to regular people – with an obvious indication written in black: "Magical Communities and Witchcraft-related Courses Registration Office."

Really, it couldn't have been clearer.

Checking around himself once more for lack of unknowing people, he softly knocked on the door, waiting to hear three kind voices calling out: "Come in!" 

Shyly, Ventus opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him before looking at who had called him in. Three old ladies each behind a secretary's desk, each one dressed in her own colour – Blue, red and green respectively.

"Oh hello, dear! Have you come to sign up for courses?" The green-dressed lady welcomed him, bright eyes and wide smile genuine on her face.

"Uh... Yes?" He spoke softly. 

"I'll be happy to help you," She spoke again, beckoning him to her desk. "Come on, sit in the chair. What courses would you like to sign up for, dear?"

The next forty-five minutes were spent painstakingly going through all the classes he'd need to enrol on, figure out which ones worked out with his work schedule, and then Ventus found himself with a stack of papers to fill up, a list of documents to provide, as well as a map of the campus and a tentative schedule for his classes.

It took him fifteen minutes to get home, and then three whole hours of sitting at his desk mechanically filling forms upon forms, as well as digging up copies of the required documents. By the time he was done preparing his papers, it was about twenty minutes before 2 pm and he only just remembered that he was starving.

It was when he set foot outside his room that he remembered that it was supposed to be  _ his _ turn to make food, and yet no one had knocked at his door to remind him to prepare lunch – even though he knew both Xion and Roxas would be up at this hour. 

He checked by Roxas and Xion's room, as well as his father's, only to find both empty. Where  _ were  _ they?

He finally stepped in the kitchen to find a serving of food left in the frying pan, long cold, as well as a sticky note on the wall next to it.

_ Dad said not to disturb you while doing paperwork – Made food for everyone, left your share in the pan, warm it up 1 _ _ st _ _ – me and Xi out into town, will be back later _

Huh. At least they left a note. Had he really been so caught up in what he was doing that he didn't hear anyone leave?

And where had his father gone anyway? He usually didn't go out without telling the three of them.

… Why was he so antsy and worried about all of them being gone? They were all free to do whatever they wanted; they didn't have to tell him beforehand.

… But it would've been nice of them anyway.

Eating lunch alone felt a little bit weird, and he found that he wasn't nearly as hungry as he thought he was. He didn't even finish the serving of food left, let alone anything more than that, and instead found himself going back to his room quickly after cleaning up the kitchen.

He couldn't really describe the odd feeling nestling in his chest, but he didn't like it. Even though he hadn't planned anything today, he didn't expect to leave his room and be... 

All alone.

He couldn't even remember the last time he had been home alone.  Eraqus so very rarely left, and he never had while his twin and Xion were also gone. Not in several years, anyway.

Ventus laid down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. A caw caught his attention, his pet birds clearly trying to earn head pats. With a huffed smile, he gave the three of them head scratches and opened the window, letting them fly off.

That feeling was still there.

It wasn't jealousy. He knew what jealousy was like, he used to feel it so strongly towards his brother's happy relationship. It wasn't quite loneliness either, though he supposed it was a bit close to it.

He felt... Left behind. Like people were moving on ahead of him and he wasn't keeping up.

What did that even have to do with being home alone? 

Ventus dropped back onto his bed and let one of his hands fall straight on his face. He needed something to distract himself. 

He turned towards his usual solution, and drowned himself in his books for the next several hours until anyone came home.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is beta-read by the sweetest lady in the universe and put through grammarly, but if you see something that sounds wonky please do tell me, english isnt my first language 
> 
> I hope it isnt too boring, the introduction is gonna be long anyway because i have a fuckton of stuff to set in place
> 
> Most things implied or shown in chapters will be answered at some point. This is going to be a ridiculously long fic for which I have a lot of projects, so whatever mystery might be will eventually have an answer.
> 
> (Update rate will be inconsistent, please do not expect otherwise)


End file.
